Cyril Ramaphosa is the new president of the ANC

The announcement was made just before 7pm after delays, a dramatic campaign season, and fears that the ANC’s elective conference would end in shambles.

Supporters cheered when the ANC electoral commission’s announcement was made, after waiting more than an hour for commission officials to arrive to declare the winners.

Cyril Ramaphosa won 2 440 votes to Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma’s 2 261.

The commission’s Bontle Mpakanyane said 4 708 votes were cast, of the 4 776 total number of credentials.

Speculation mounted during the day that Ramaphosa had taken the leadership, with Jackson Mthembu anticipating the result.

« We have looked at the numbers. CR17 campaign has not talked about numbers, but we know that we have more than 2 389 to win this conference if you include our PECs that are in Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Northern Cape », Mthembu said.

Prior to the announcement, delegates sang songs in support of both Dlamini-Zuma and Ramaphosa. Up on stage, members of the party’s national executive committee shared hugs as they waited. In one moment, ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete became tearful.

The mood inside the Nasrec centre was rapturous for much of the proceedings, but those in Dlamini-Zuma’s camp, particularly supporters from KwaZulu-Natal, appeared disappointed.